Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham making a global splash

06 November 2024

Matthew Mitcham might have retired from diving but he’s still making waves in high performance sport.

Mitcham recently visited staff at the AIS European Training Centre (ETC) in Italy.

The two-time Olympic record holder is a long-standing ambassador for the AIS Thrive with Pride Program – an initiative which sees rainbow athletes and allies drive LGBTIQ+ inclusion initiatives in sport.

Most recently Mitcham paid a visit to the AIS European Training Centre (ETC) in Varese, Italy which offers a ‘home away from home’ for Australian athletes and support staff to advance Thrive with Pride.

“It was basically LGBTIQ+ Inclusion 101 training. Attendees learnt about the incredible diversity within the community, learnt about the impact discrimination and exclusion has on athletes, and workshopped some ideas about how staff can make the ETC more inclusive for LGBTIQ+ athletes,” Mitcham said.

For the former world record holder, an inclusive sporting environment can make or break an athlete’s career.

“It's important to me because having an inclusive training environment was the catalyst for my progress to skyrocket before the Beijing Games where I won gold.

“In high performance sport where winning could be a matter of a razor's edge advantage, it's as much mental as it is physical. I believe creating inclusive training environments provides the optimal space for everyone to bring their best selves (their entire selves!) to training,” Mitcham said.

Following his extensive work in the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) space, Mitcham was appointed as a Pride House ambassador at the Paris Games earlier this year.

“I was a very busy bee in Paris, but in terms of Pride House specifically, I was in charge of getting awareness about Pride House's existence to the athletes, and ideally getting them to Pride House to experience it for themselves.

Now the Aussie diver has his heart set on making an impact on an international scale.

“I want to do even more work in the DEI and education space. Short-term plan: Obviously I LOVE working with high-performance sport so I'm always seeking more of those opportunities whether they be in Australia or Europe (or both... or anywhere else!)

“Medium-term plan: Pride House LA 2028 have already asked me to work with them which is exciting, and as part of that role I want to organise an LGBTIQ+ inclusion summit for all the International Federations in Lausanne.

“Long-term plan: Brisbane 2032, and ultimately, make a meaningful contribution to inclusion in sport.”

Visit our website to learn more about the AIS Thrive with Pride program and its ambassadors.